The education debacle

By Rudy Takala

The war for the children has been reaching ridiculous extremes as of late, with the ownership of children being an object of dispute. Socialism has always espoused a doctrine of subordinating the welfare of individuals to the welfare of the State, but American socialists have rarely stated it in unambiguous and outright terms.

In recent decades, conservatives began to oppose the forcible confiscation of children for the purpose of State-conducted indoctrination. This began as a reasonable movement; no rational or moral law can allow government to coerce the direction of anyone's life to such an extent.

But as I said, the opposing movements have come to a similarity in reaching fanatical extremes. The education movement began with a pretense of educating; it operated under a façade of intellectual merit. In reality, it was predicated on the hope of many differing factions, Christian and socialist alike, that their interests would be perpetuated.

The interest that socialists had vested in the system need not be expounded upon; it is already a fact well documented by the writings of Robert Owen to Karl Marx, to Joseph Stalin to Hillary Clinton.

The Christians, more interestingly, also had an interest in the capability of schools to indoctrinate. In 1848, for example, the General Association of Massachusetts, representing the Protestant denominations of the state, met "to investigate the relations between the system of common school education and the religious interest of the young." They reported that it would be "[A] great evil to withdraw from the established system of common schools, the interest and influence of the religious part of the community... It seems to be the wisest course... to do all in our power to perfect so far as it can be done, not only its intellectual, but also its moral and religious character."

Hence, the socialists were able to sufficiently allure Protestants with the reassurance that public schools would operate under the flag of Protestantism. Of course, Catholics thus became alarmed; as one Catholic wrote in the 1850s, "So far as Catholics are concerned, the system of Common Schools in this country is a monstrous engine of injustice and tyranny... So far as it professes to be religious, it is anti-Catholic, and so far as it is secular, it is pagan."

Battle lines formed accordingly, and the various segments of Christianity formed their alliances with those they felt best suited their interests. In the end, of course, paganism won out. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Christians thought they could play with fire without incident. They were wrong.

The situation has been climaxing ever since, and in this new millennium, the numerous facets of the debate have become simultaneously amusing and disgusting. It's one of the few political issues where the intellectual development of the matter hasn't turned into a thousand layers of lies and euphemisms, which is probably why most successful politicians don't particularly enjoy conversing on the subject.

But certain problems occasionally necessitate thinking about it. In Myrtle Point, Oregon, the school district is facing a $675,000 gap for next year. Oregon bases its state school funding on enrollment, which means every student a school district holds will allow the district an extra $5,000 in taxpayer dollars. An estimated 100 children in the district are homeschooled.

In order to attract local homeschoolers, Superintendent Robert Smith said the school system is willing to adjust the curriculum by allowing discussion of creationism in biology classes, or biblical literature in English courses.

One parent said, "Home-schooling allows you to work out the pace that is best for them. And, we are Christians, and for me, it is important that I teach them to think with a biblical world view." Another parent said, "There would be the moral issues that our children would have to face with all the others who aren't taught the way they are."

In response, Dal King, a member of the Myrtle Point school board, wrote a letter to the local paper. It righteously proclaimed, "Families who homeschool or choose to send their kids to other districts, we need your full support, not just what's convenient for you. While you may have good reasons, please do your part by enrolling your kids full-time in the district and don't just 'cherry-pick' music or sports."

It's humorous to observe the plea being made here. The State is everything; mere individuals mean nothing. Every sacrifice necessary to appease the socialist God must be made, no matter what the cost to individual lives may be.

Christian conservatives have hardly assumed an admirable position, either. Christians, like the liberals, do not list academic quality as the primary concern on which they base their decisions. Neither side is so interested in education as they are in ideology, and the trepidation Christians have for anyone who isn't "taught the way" their children are does nothing but complement an existing perception of Christians as elements of a fringe movement in society.

There are greater threats to civilization than morally decrepit children. Socialism is one example that comes to mind. Government owned and operated schools must be opposed for the fact that they are government owned and operated; a false image of a conservative movement capable of being allured back to the trough of government action, if only it is a "Christian" trough, is not acceptable.

Power corrupts, and it always will. State-owned schools are pernicious for the fact that their essence demands an acceptance of collectivist reasoning, and this is the reason for which they must be rejected.

© Rudy Takala